Sept. 15, 2008

Contact: Greg Murphy

Complete Release in PDF Format

Matches 10-11

Cleveland State (1-8, 0-0 HL) vs. Loyola (9-2, 0-0 HL)
Date: Friday, Sept. 19, 2008
Time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Woodling Gym - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: LU leads, 24-8
Last Mtg.: CSU 3, @ LU 0 (10/26/07)

Cleveland State vs. UIC (3-6, 0-0 HL)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 13, 2008
Time: 2:00 p.m. EDT
Site: Woodling Gym - Cleveland, Ohio
Series: UIC leads, 39-14
Last Mtg.: @ UIC 3, CSU 2 (10/27/07)

QUICK SETS: Cleveland State begins defense of its Horizon League Championship when the Vikings open the league schedule with a pair of home matches this weekend. CSU will host Loyola on Friday (Sept. 19) at 7:00 p.m. before welcoming UIC to Woodling Gym on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The Vikings enter the week with a 1-8 mark and have dropped six straight matches, their longest losing streak since 2001.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings played in their third and final nonconference tournament to open the season. Following are brief recaps of each match.

Match 7: UAB 3, CSU 1 (Sept. 12, Laramie, Wyo.) - 26-28, 25-10, 25-21, 25-19
Cleveland State rallied to win the first set, but UAB claimed the next three to earn a 3-1 win over the Vikings. The Vikings led the third set 19-16, but UAB closed the set on a 9-2 run before racing out to a 19-9 lead in the fourth set. Jenni Ramminger had 12 kills, while Alexis Korovich tallied eight kills and 11 digs.

Match 8: Kansas 3, CSU 1 (Sept. 12, Laramie, Wyo.) - 28-30, 25-12, 26-24, 25-14
CSU dropped its second straight match at the Cowgirl Invitational, falling in four sets to Kansas. KU jumped out to a 20-11 lead in the first set, but the Vikings battled all the way back to win, 28-26. However, the Jayhawks won the next three sets. Liz Fazio had a team-high 10 kills and Jordan Goad had 36 assists.

Match 9: Wyoming 3, CSU 0 (Sept. 13, Laramie, Wyo.) - 25-18, 25-19, 25-21
The Vikings were swept for just the second time this season, falling in straight sets to host Wyoming as the Cowgirls hit .396. Beth Greulich and Jenni Ramminger combined to hit .474 with 19 kills and just one error in 38 attempts.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Ninth-year head coach Chuck Voss has high hopes for the 2008 season as five starters and the libero return from last seasons NCAA tournament team that went 23-9. Add to that mix six newcomers and Voss has one of the deepest and most experienced teams during his tenure as head coach. Junior opposite Beth Greulich, a two-time first team All-Horizon League selection, leads the team in kills (77) and ranks third in the league with a .305 hitting percentage. CSU is loaded with upperclassmen at the outside hitter position with Alexis Korovich (63 K, .128, 60 D) leading the way. She is joined by juniors Liz Fazio (46 K, .126, 0.41 dps) and Kayla Lefeld (41 K, .085, 6 SA). Sophomore Amy Benz (77 K, .255, 35 BLK) and senior Jenni Ramminger (75, .238, 22 BLK) control the middle of the floor, while freshman Jordan Goad (266 AST, 22K, 5 SA) has taken over the starting setter role. Defensively, the Vikings may be as strong as they have ever been with senior Jordan Bateman (2.97 dpg) leading the way. Junior Maggie Bonomini (1.97 dps) and sophomore Meghan Mental (0.96 dps) give CSU depth and experience in the backrow.

THE HEAD COACH: In his ninth year at the helm of the Viking volleyball program, head coach Chuck Voss has methodically built the program from the ground up. He inherited a team that had not enjoyed a winning season in 17 years and turned things around in his third season (2002) when he led the Vikings to an 18-16 mark. CSU has now recorded six straight winning seasons (2002-07), the most since the program opened with seven straight (1972-78). Voss has a 132-114 (.537) mark at CSU, ranking second on the all-time wins list. Voss, who has a 165-150 (.524) overall record in 10 seasons, has mentored the only two All-Americans in school history, the 2005 Horizon League Player of the Year, 13 first team all-league picks, eight all-newcomer team members and four league Newcomer of the Year picks at Cleveland State.

BLING, BLING: Prior to the start of Friday night's match versus Loyola, coaches and players from the 2007 Horizon League Championship team will unveil the championship banner and receive championship rings to commemorate CSU's first-ever league title. The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 6:55 p.m. before the starting lineups and national anthem.

HOME SWEET HOME: Friday's match against Loyola will be the first home match of the season for CSU after the Vikings opened with nine consecutive matches on the road. The Sept. 19 home opener is the latest one for CSU since the 1994 team played its first 15 matches away from Woodling Gym before its home opener on Sept. 30 against Wright State.

STREAKING THE WRONG WAY: CSU enters the week having lost six straight matches, the longest such streak for the Vikings since the 2001 team lost seven consecutive matches mid-season. From 2005-07, CSU never lost more than two straight matches.

UNLUCKY SEVEN???: Cleveland State has posted six consecutive winning seasons (2002-07), the second-longest streak in school history. It trails only the seven straight winning campaigns from 1972-78. With a minimum of 18 matches left this season, CSU will have to go 13-5 the rest of the season in order to secure another winning season.

TOURNEY TALK: The Vikings went just 1-8 in their three nonconference tournaments this season, the first time CSU posted a losing record in its preseason tournaments since 1999 (2-8). Over the previous eight seasons (2000-07), CSU was 54-19 in nonconference tournaments.

RULE CHANGES: Two key rule changes were introduced in collegiate volleyball this season, including sets now being played to 25 points instead of 30 as they had been for the previous seven seasons. In additon the maximum number of substitutions per set has been reduced from 15 to 12 this season.

SHE CAN DIG IT: Senior libero Jordan Bateman has started her final season out right, leading the team with 98 digs which has allowed her to move into second place on the career digs list at CSU (1,167). Bateman, who is 239 digs shy of breaking Emily Clark's school record, opened the season by recording 43 digs in three matches at the Northern Illinois Invitational (Aug. 29-30) to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.

ACCURATE AND PRECISE: After missing much of the preseason with an injury, junior Beth Greulich has not let that missed time affect her. She leads the team with 77 kills and a .305 hitting percentage, having reached double-digit kills in four matches. Greulich's .325 (735-198-1,654) career hitting percentage ranks as the third best in school history.

A LUXURIOUS MERCEDES: Middle hitter Amy Benz has started out her sophomore campaign right where she finished her freshman season. The 2007 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and first team all-league pick leads the team and is sixth in the conference in blocks (1.03), while ranking second on the team in hitting percentage (.255) and third in kills (1.91). She is three blocks shy of moving into 10th place on the CSU all-time blocks list (222).

AND A NICE LEXUS: Junior outside hitter Alexis Korovich returns as one of the top all-around players in the Horizon League and is the lone CSU player to average at least 2.0 kills and 2.0 digs per set through nine matches this season. She came close to recording her first double-double of the season with eight kills and a season-high 11 digs against UAB (Sept. 12).

JENNI FROM THE BLOCK: Senior Jenni Ramminger has been one of the top blockers in school history, ranking fourth in career block assists (318) and fifth in all-time blocks (367). In addition, she has been extremely productive on the offensive end, ranking fifth in program history in hitting percentage (.272). Ramminger was CSU's top offensive player at the Wyoming Cowgirl Invitational, totaling 30 kills and 10 blocks, while hitting .303

IT'S ALL GOAD: Freshman setter Jordan Goad has transitioned well to the starting setter role, averaging 8.9 assists per set in the seven matches she has started. In her first career start against Chicago State (Aug. 30), Goad led the team to a season-best .392 hitting percentage. She handed out a career-high 50 assists in a loss at Dayton (Sept. 6) before averaging 9.5 assists per set at the Wyoming Cowgirl Invitational (Sept. 12-13).

ACE, ACE, BABY: One statistical category that the Vikings have dominated early this season is serving, as CSU holds a 41-36 advantage in service aces. Jordan Bateman leads the way with 10 aces, while Alexis Korovich has seven and Kayla Lefeld six.

ERRORS HURT VIKINGS: For as good as CSU has been at connecting on aces, the Vikings have also been hurt by their inconsistency to keep serves in play with 83 service errors through nine matches. In contrast, CSU's opponents have only totaled 64 service errors.

ALL-OHIO: One interesting note about CSU's roster is that all 16 players call the State of Ohio home. In fact, head coach Chuck Voss has never had a player from outside Ohio on his roster. The last player from another state to play for CSU was Muncie, Ind., native Kristi Conlon in 1998.

SMART TEAM: The volleyball team has been honored for its exceptional performance in the classroom as a recipient of the Game Time/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the fourth straight year. The Vikings, who were one of just 70 Division I schools to earn the award, carried a team grade point average of 3.58 during the 2007-08 school year.

UP NEXT: The Vikings hit the road for their lone match of the week when CSU plays at Wright State on Friday (Sept. 26) beginning at 7:00 p.m.